A POPULAR dad was remembered at a poignant charity night in his memory.

Just two days before what would have been his 40th birthday, friends and family of Andrew Corfield gathered tonight at the Ironopolis Social Club in central Middlesbrough.

And it was an emotional occasion for scores of people who attended the event, organised by Andrew’s daughter Amy as a way to mark the weekend of what should be a landmark birthday for the dad-of-three.

It also comes just a day after Andrew’s widow, Lisa’s 40th.

“With it being mum and dad’s birthdays and because he was a charitable man, I thought this would this would be nice and something he would be proud of,” said Amy, 22.

“It will be a mix of emotions,” she added. “I know at the end of the night, the family will get very emotional.”

The event is raising funds for Brake, The Lullaby Trust and Headway.

Tragedy struck for the Corfield family on October 28 last year.

Andrew and his daughter Alice were just seconds away from their Hemlington home when another car crashed into theirs on the corner of Cass House Road and Fordyce Road.

Andrew Corfield

Andrew was pronounced death at the scene, and Alice sustained devastating injuries.

Her skull was also detached from her spine and has had to be bolted back together.

Alice is still awaiting a SMART assessment at Walkergate Park in Newcastle, where she transferred from James Cook University Hospital in April to continue her rehabilitation.

SMART stands for sensory modality assessment and rehabilitation technique and is used to assess the levels of awareness, functional, sensory and communicative abilities of adults in vegetative or minimally-conscious states.

Alice is able to breathe unaided, but she remains pegfed via her stomach and cannot speak or sit up on her own.

Amy pictured with some of the prizes

Speaking just days ago, Lisa, also mum to Owen, 21, said: “As far as I’m concerned, she’s in there and understands but hasn’t found her voice.”

Teenager Jake McCabe was jailed for seven-and-a-half years in December for causing the crash which killed Andrew Corfield.

McCabe, then 18, pleaded guilty to death by dangerous driving, causing serious injury by dangerous driving, handling stolen goods and driving while not licensed or insured.